Nothing is Unexpected
by SakugariHana
Summary: In a world where hope is lost to slavery and the fear for one's life, our heroes meet a Valerie- a resistance leader who wants to bring down the dictatorship. The group searches for the feather along the way, but will rising tension cost them a companion? Rated T for later events. Hope you enjoy!
1. Prolouge

Nothing is Unexpected, Prologue- by SakugariHana

Pairing: KuroganexValerie (OC)

Anime/Mange: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles

Time: Industrial-Dictator World (Not in main storyline)

((This was a request from .Rune. Her OC is Valerie, and Sakugari will be in here as well. This is just a short prologue, telling you a little about what's to come. Hope you enjoy!))

Valerie screamed, her cries only echoing off the walls.

"I'm going to ask you once again… where is the lovely lady?" a raspy voice snarled in her ear. She could feel his beard and hot breath- his mouth probably housing lots of gnarled, self-sharpened teeth. Valerie glared at him, her eyes staring through him as the wound on her head sent blood running down her cheek. Suspended by her bound hands, she turned and spat in his face.

"_Never." _She snarled, spinning back in her general direction slowly as her interrogater wiped his eye.

"Very well…" he replied, holding up one clawed finger as his demonic voice rang in her ears. Valerie screamed again as the clock struck ten. Bleeding from her torso, she panted heavily. No matter what, in this world of slavery and pollution, she wouldn't give in and wouldn't let anyone in if that's what it took. This was before she met up with our familiar group of friends. Just remember: in this story, nothing is unexpected.


	2. They Arrive

Nothing is Unexpected, Chapter 1- by SakugariHana

Pairing: KuroganexValerie (OC)

Anime/Mange: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles

Time: Industrial-Dictator World (Not in main storyline)

((This was a request from .Rune. Her OC is Valerie, and Sakugari will be in here as well. Hope you enjoy!))

Kurogane landed hard on the dirt road, breathing heavily. Sakugari had held onto Fai's arm to help her stay with them (as an unfortunate incident earlier had ended them up separated), and maybe for another reason too. Sakura and Syaoran stood together, the young girl holding an unconscious Mokona in her arms.

"He got so hurt in the fight…" she said sadly, gazing sympathetically at the small creature.

"I can heal him, but it may take a while." Sakugari replied, seeing as Mokona was a magical being and she had no idea how to help him yet. Fai just put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, smiling brightly.

"I guess we're stuck for a while then, huh? Isn't that great Kuro-poo?" he added, jumping away as Kurogane tried to punch him.

"Can it! My name's KUROGANE." He said, clearly irritated already.

"Hey! Not so loud! The Bandits will hear you!" Kurogane immediately wheeled around, seeing a girl not much older looking than Sakugari (even though she was over 300 years old, which he doubted this girl was) glaring at him from an alleyway.

"Follow me. I can give you all shelter for a while. You don't want to be caught out after curfew!" she said quietly, beckoning for them as she took off down the alley. Sakugari and Sakura soon followed her, with their respective companions in tow, while Kurogane brought up the rear as they wound around in the back alleyways for what seemed like hours. Eventually, they came to an iron door. The girl stopped to let them all in, glaring up at helicopters that flew above them as she slammed the door.

Her home was small, but the girl didn't have much. There were several hammocks along one wall, a small table, cabinets and chairs in the corner of one room, a TV and a couch in another, and a desk overflowing with various things in a third.

"So where are you guys from?" she asked, flicking on the lights.

"All over." He said, looking at her with awe. She wasn't very tall, but the vibe she gave off seemed a little rugged. She had long curling red tresses and piercing blue eyes almost sharp enough to make you bleed by looking at them. She was wearing a red T-shirt and black pants, along with a black hat to cover her eyes. She smiled at Kurogane; a bright, hopeful smile. She reminded Kurogane of Tomoyo with her smile.

"So what's going on here exactly?" Fai asked. His smile was a little less happy now. The girl sighed, sitting on the couch and removing her hat.

"My name's Valerie. I lived with the princess for a while as the castle architect's assistant. I helped her escape when the world came to this. People tried to get stuff out of me, but I wouldn't give in." she said, clicking on the TV as the news came on.

Soon after everyone was introduced, almost everyone went to bed. Kurogane sat silently, watching the news as Valerie read something.

"How long do you plan to be here?" she asked, looking up at Kurogane.

"Not sure. A while at least. 'Gari needs to heal the manju bun before we can go anywhere…" he said, his gaze not breaking from what was going on.

Valerie smiled. "Good. You guys are my first guests in a while. I hope we can be friends!" she said, beaming.

Kurogane glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. "You sound like the mage. But I'm sure we'll work something out." He replied, looking back at the news.

Valerie squealed happily.

"Hey! Don't wake the whole damn city now!" Kurogane snapped, glaring a little at her. Valerie stopped, her gaze softening.

"I'm sorry… I think I'll go to bed." She said, turning quietly before she felt a grip on her wrist. Awkwardly wrapping his arm around her shoulder, Kurogane shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. We've all had a long day. Maybe we both need the sleep." He replied, squeezing her lightly in an apologetic hug.

Valerie nodded, squeezing his arm as her face turned bright scarlet. "I'll… see you tomorrow then..?" she asked, nervously.

Kurogane grunted, figuring she was tired and went to a hammock. As Valerie turned off the TV, she pulled out the bed in her couch and got her blanket and pillow out. Setting up and lying down, she couldn't fall asleep. Her eyes were wide and her face was still a little red.

Why do I feel this way? Could it be..? She thought, sighing. No… I've known the man for a day, I can't possibly have a crush on him already… I shouldn't trust him so easily though… he is cute though- stop it! Shut up right now!

Valerie shut her eyes tightly, turning red. Get to know them tomorrow… she thought. Then we'll see…

With that she closed her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep.


	3. The truth?

Nothing is Unexpected, Chapter 2- by SakugariHana

Pairing: KuroganexValerie (OC)

Anime/Mange: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles

Time: Industrial-Dictator World (Not in main storyline)

((This was a request from .Rune. Her OC is Valerie, and Sakugari will be in here as well. Hope you enjoy!))

Valerie woke up when she heard the low beeping of her coffee pot. Sitting up, she looked over to the kitchen. Sakugari was already up, looking through a book at the table. She looked up when she heard the redhead yawn.

"I'm sorry! I would've asked, but I didn't want to wake you up!" she explained, flustered and quiet so she wouldn't wake the others.

"You sure like to apologize, huh Gari-chan?" Sakugari turned light pink as Fai got up, smiling and stretching his arms as he stood up and walked to the table. She sighed, getting another cup of coffee and handing it to him.

"No thanks. I'll get a stomach ache then Kuro-Puu will get mad at me for not fighting well enough~" Fai said, subconsciously moving his head as if a punch was already being thrown at him. Sakugari just smiled and got him some water, in case someone else claimed the coffee.

Both of them stopped short with their actions when they felt an odd presence in the air. They turned to see Valerie with chibi eyes and a cat-like expression on her face- just staring at them with a look of creepy-joy.

"Are you guys in loooooooove~?" she asked, her look becoming more sly.

"Ehehehe…" Fai replied, nervously rubbing the back of his head as Sakugari shook her head a little, her face redder by the second.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EE! YOU GUYS ARE SO CUTE!" Valerie's squeal proceeded to make Kurogane sit bolt upright, and Syaoran jumped awake and rolled out of his hammock. After a few minutes of Kurogane helping up a dazed and confused Syaoran, Sakura sat up carefully, rubbing her eyes as Mokona slept soundly in her lap. By now Fai was blushing lightly while Sakugari went back to reading her book. Her face looked like a tomato.

"Ah… I'm sorry guys. I get excited often…" Valerie replied, smiling nervously.

Fai smiled apologetically as Kurogane sighed. "Try to control yourself a little, okay?" he asked.

"Come on Kuro-Puu, don't be so harsh~" Fai said teasingly as he dodged an actual punch this time.

"MY NAME IS KUROGANE DAMMIT." He yelled, chasing the mage around the room.

"Be careful!" Sakura called, getting out of her hammock.

"We won't be too rough, will we Papa?" Fai said, jumping over Kurogane as he charged at him.

Their spat continued as Syaoran, Sakura and Valerie looked on. Mokona was still asleep, and Sakugari sighed as she turned a page in her book.

"I don't get him…" she said to herself, looking over the page again.

. . .

"So where are we going exactly?" Kurogane asked, following Valerie and Syaoran through the dark, dirty streets. The sky was greenish-black from pollution from what they had heard. Sakura, Fai and Sakugari had stayed at Valerie's house to try and heal Mokona. Valerie was now taking the boys to buy food. She saw she was out this morning, and figured she could get to know the group better this way.

"So what brings you five on your journey?" Valerie asked, looking from her list to Kurogane, who sighed in return.

"I came because I was forced. I'm not really regretting it now though." He answered, looking straight ahead.

"That's right. I came with Sakura-hime to help find her memories as well. Fai I think is just travelling with us…" Syaoran said, thinking to himself a little.

"Sounds about right. Gari's learning from him, so she's normally with him if we go somewhere. The manju bun gets us to different worlds to do all of it though." Kurogane added as they came through the shops.

Valerie nodded, smiling. "I see. Oh! Turn in here!" she said, pulling Kurogane into the alley. Syaoran followed, just as puzzled as Kurogane. Once again, they wound through tons of alleyways until reaching a steal door. Valerie knocked once, with no response. Kurogane was about to knock harder as the door swung open and they all got pulled into the room.

The carpet was red, and candles lit up virtually every surface. A large dark round table was in the center of the room, with two men in military uniforms and a woman in an expensive black outfit around it. At the head of the table was a woman with black hair in dirty silk clothing. She looked almost like-

"Princess." Valerie greeted, bowing deeply. Kurogane bowed as well, kicking Syaoran in the heel to get him to follow. The princess smiled, nodding as Valerie and her companions stood up.

"Miss Valerie! How are you?" asked a tall man in blue.

"Fine. What's our status?" she asked, walking to the edge of the table with Kurogane.

"I spoke to my army and yours, and Colonel James spoke to his own army. Better have a lot of arrows- we're attacking in five days."

Kurogane raised an eyebrow as Valerie's eyes widened. "Five days? Are you sure that'll be enough time to prepare?" She asked as the princess nodded quietly.

"My dear, our troops have been ready since day one. We have enough to get into the factory, and our plane was just finished yesterday." The man who was supposedly Colonel James replied, smiling at her from behind his white moustache.

"Sir… if I may ask…" Syaoran started, looking questionably at the men. "Why only one plane?"

The man in blue laughed. "Its purpose isn't to fight! While the dictator and the troops are distracted by our ruckus at the factory, we can land Valerie in the castle to assassinate him."

Kurogane looked over to the men in surprise. "You're sending a girl her age into battle against a power-hungry dictator?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"You don't give her enough credit I'm afraid. Valerie is one of our head archers. If it weren't for her strong will and incredible intelligence, none of us would be here in the first place." The man in blue said.

"Then at least let me be a part of this! I may be wrong, but she seems a little young to be doing crap like this." He replied, judging her age from her attitude. He'd seen Syaoran and Sakura get hurt enough. He didn't want to have to watch another younger person get injured or even die if he couldn't have a say.

"You don't understand." Syaoran looked over to the princess as she spoke.

"Valerie saved my life. I was forced out of power and she helped me escape safely. Her and her father helped us quite a bit. May he rest in peace." She said, smiling sadly to herself as Valerie hung her head.

"Five days, huh? Guess I should make more arrows." She finally said, turning to smile at Kurogane.

The man in blue nodded. "You're all welcome to help. We'll see you all then." He said, standing up to leave.


End file.
